


Let me teach you my language

by An_Uncreative_Mind



Category: OFF (Game)
Genre: Highschool AU, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-09
Updated: 2014-07-31
Packaged: 2018-01-24 03:42:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1590425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/An_Uncreative_Mind/pseuds/An_Uncreative_Mind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>School is naturally a stressful place, but for Zacharie (a new student who has just moved to the USA from France) it only ever seems to get worse. With language and bullying problems, Zach begins to think there is no escape from this all time low. That is however, until he meets the Batter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A new school, a new beginning

A new school in a new country, as if school wasn't bad by itself. That was just how it was for Zacharie. Moving to the USA from France, a move his parents decided was smart after him having only a few English lessons. Of course, it wasn't. He eyed all the other kids, watching their mouths move, but not understanding a single word that came from them. He watched their eyes follow him with every step he took, and there was that gut feeling that they were talking about him. Well, it would make sense: the new kid always had to be gossiped about. Zacharie just wished he could understand their mockeries.

It almost saddened him, watching all the other students with their friends. Even in his old school he never really had any friends. He was just that kid that sat on his own in lunch, watching everyone else, trying not to be noticed by a few certain people, always hiding and feeling unsafe. Zacharie really didn't want to think about that though, he still lived in constant fear.

This time, however, he was determined to change that; he didn't want to feel afraid anymore. They couldn't hurt him now. After he was confident with his English, Zach promised himself that he would talk to people. This time he would try to make friends.

The French boy stood still for a moment, tugging on the cat-like mask that covered his face to secure his features were hidden from sight. In fact, he was surprised that he hadn't been asked about it yet, but there was still time for that. That was another thing that worried him. There was a few reasons why he never had friends back at his other school, and his mask was one of them. That, and the factor that caused him to wear it.

He decided, however, that he'd be more open about it this time, and that he wouldn't just shoo people away when they asked about it. That way, he could make friends. Secrets were a main part of friendship after all, weren't they? Zach just hoped he wouldn't tell the wrong people.

There were still ten minutes until lessons started (which were replaced by English lessons for him), so there wouldn't be any harm in exploring the surroundings for a short while. The playground seemed like a reasonable place to start, being that was where he currently stood. It also gave him a chance to look at some of new people, so that he could decide who he wanted as a friend. He tugged the straps on his backpack and cracked a small smile as he scanned his eyes over the place- apart from the language difference, it didn't look too bad after all.


	2. The Baseball guy

The baseball field. That's what caught his eye. Zach didn't know why, but it did. He noticed a few people practicing there, perhaps that was it. Regardless, he slowly made his way over there, looking at everyone around him as he did and noticing a few starers. No surprise there. The masked boy just hoped that the baseball players wouldn't mind him watching, but surely they got it a lot, right? Of course, he'd leave if he was told to, but he always found sports fascinating. Only watching them, of course, he could never play them; he wasn't skilled enough.

Most of them looked pretty intimidating, that's the first thing Zacharie noticed. He was a small boy, lanky too. He'd always had such a slender figure. The baseball players, on the other hand, were mostly tall guys, built with quite a lot of muscle. The French kid kept his distance though- he only really wanted to watch from a distance anyway.

"Batter up!"

The quote caused a small plethora of laughter amongst the sportsmen, as if the person shouting it had made some kind of witty remark. The man answering the call didn't look too amused, instead wore a stubborn look. "The joke's getting old now. I think you need to stop." He stood firmly in the batting square, looking ready to hit any ball thrown at him. It was obvious that the pitcher tried to make the ball hard to bat, but without success. The batting boy gave what could only be explained as the perfect swing, sending the ball flying for only God knows how far.

Zacharie felt his jaw drop. Surely things like that were only possible in video games and movies?

Obviously not.

Besides, the batsman didn't even seem to impressed. He gave a shrug and rubbed the back of his head, as if he expected to do better. Zach, on the other hand, was still in total awe. He even began to question if this was reality

"Fucking hell, Batter, who's going to go and get that now?" The remark was said in a rather joking manner, it was almost like the team mate was trying to congratulate the superpowered male.

He wasn't having none of it though, for he just left the field, taking the bat with him as well. "Not me." Was all he insisted in his emotionless voice, passing Zacharie and giving him just the slightest glance.

For some reason though, it left an imprint on Zach. The baseball player's eyes were a reddish colour, but despite their fiery appearance, the look that came from them was cold. Not cold as in intimidating, but it was enough to send the smallest shiver down the masked boy's spine. In fact, the batsman almost seemed curious.

The eye contact only lasted for a mere second though.

Zacharie did find this rather strange. He found  _everything_ about this guy strange to tell the truth. But Zach was not one to judge, he couldn't be. He just watched the bat wielder make his way to the school building, pondering what he was planning to do with the bat exactly.

Once the other male had gone out of sight and he had fully took in what he had just witnessed, the masked boy checked his watch. There was now only four minutes until he began his English learning journey, giving him just enough time to find and make his way to his classroom.

Gripping the straps of his backpack once again, Zacharie steadily made his way to the school building. If there was one thing certain, it was that once Zach was confident with his English, that baseball guy was going to be the first person he would try to befriend.


	3. Not now. Not again...

The first English lesson was what could be described as a living hell. All Zacharie learnt was how to say 'hello' and 'goodbye', along with a few colours. Most importantly he learnt how to count to ten, which was of course _extraordinarily exciting._ He already new most of that stuff anyway, so in all it was a waste of time. Obviously, Zacharie could  _really_  make friends by obnoxiously shouting the word "blue" at them.

But that was only the first part; Zach hoped that his next dosage would be more effective. At least the teacher was someone he could actually understand, since she too could speak French. Plus, he was free from boredom central for a short while-twenty minutes to be exact-due to the fact that it was break. It was a long and hard decision when it came to thinking up how to spend this short period of time. Especially when he would be spending this short period of time  _alone._ He'd already watched a group of boys play baseball, so he tried to dismiss that idea. Although it was hard: he was ever so tempted to go and watch the boy that he had decided to call 'The Baseball guy' again after the performance he saw earlier in the morning.

Where had he got to anyway? Zach spent the majority of the English lesson pondering why he had taken the bat. Did he break something with it? Zacharie never heard a smash. Was it even his bat? He would never know. Perhaps it was just for self-defense reasons. However the boy sure did seem capable of knocking a man unconscious with his bare hands, never mind the bat. Besides, he didn't look like the kind of person you'd want to mess with: he was muscular and tall, his face seemed to always give the illusion that he was angry-if that even was an illusion that is. The more the masked boy thought about him, the more eager he was to run up to him and say hi. That was the only thing he actually could say, however. He could always start counting in front of him, Zach was sure 'Baseball guy' would be  _super impressed._

Anyway, the baseball player was only the first person on the masked boy's 'people I want to be friends with' list, not the last. Zacharie needed to find other people. After all, 'Baseball guy' didn't seem like the type of guy who would accept the French boy as a friend straight away. Or even at all for that matter. He didn't even look like he was friends with the other baseball players, the people who he probably spent the most time with. Befriending him would be a long and hard process, but Zach was willing to go through it if it meant he could have a pal as cool as him.

This time his eyes drifted over to the basketball court-another sport that Zacharie found interesting to watch. There were people practising on it, and even from a distance the French boy knew they were good. He still wanted to get a closer look though.

He would have too, if he didn't feel a strong force pushing against him.

A force strong enough to push him to the ground.

It took Zacharie a moment to realise what had happened. All he felt was pain and nervousness, but couldn't comprehend why. When he finally noticed he was no longer standing, and was in fact lying on the gravel floor face-or at least mask-first, he scrambled to get to his feet, but was only knocked back down by a pair of feet which then rolled him onto his back. And at that moment, Zach stared fear right in the eyes.

A group of boys, much taller than he was, stood circled around him. All looking down on him, with smirks on their faces and mischief in their eyes. This wasn't good news.

"So what's the deal with the mask then?"

"You can't just stroll in with it and expect not to tell us."

"You can either do this the easy way, or the hard way. Whatever one you choose, we're still going to find out."

_What were they saying?_

Out of all the times he could have been assaulted, these jerks had to choose now. Maybe if Zach just screamed "green" at them, they'd feel threatened and leave him alone. Highly unlikely. Instead, he just tried to wriggle away, despite the fact that one of the boys' feet were placed either side him, squeezing him in.

"You gonna tell us then? Or you could just take it off. We're waiting, masky."

 _'Please just shut up and leave me alone, I don't know what you're saying'_ was pretty much the only thing rushing through Zach's head.

"Suit yourself." One of the boys scoffed after a moment of agonizing silence, kicking Zacharie in the ribs full force. He wore the most horrid smirk, enough to make anyone want to punch him right in his smug face. Zach would have, if he wasn't whining in pain and unable to get up.

The masked boy felt a tear fall down his cheek, and the words 'Not again' began echoing in his head over and over again. ' _Not now. Not again.'_

A lot of other students had decided to crowd round also, which almost gave Zach a sense of hope. Surely one of them had to help him. Surely.

_Zacharie was wrong._

They all just watched. A few of them laughed. Zacharie just wanted to scream. He wanted to scream so loud, but what difference would that make? It was clear he was fighting this battle alone.

A battle he was bound to lose.

Another boy, the one that was practically straddling him, then stomped on his chest, causing Zach to jolt up and wheeze. Zacharie just wanted to disappear at that moment. He wanted this to all be some kind of terrible dream, but the pain was too real. As was the fear.

But still the words echoed on: ' _Not again. Not again.'_

Perhaps if he closed he eyes, it wouldn't be so bad. That was an idea. So he did-he lay there and closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them again, he would be safe and fine. He hoped that he wouldn't be in pain, and that this would never had happened. He was lying to himself, but it was worth a try.

He didn't have his eyes closed for long though.

His eyes darted open at the sound of a voice booming over the sniggering crowd. A voice that strangely seemed to be sticking up for him. Also, a voice that sounded strangely familiar.

"What the fuck is going on?"

There was aggression in the voice, stubbornness too, but for some reason it made Zacharie feel just the slightest bit better.  _Why did he recognise it?_

It made the bullies react at least, for they all turned their heads towards the owner of the voice, and took a step away from the French boy. For some reason, they all looked pretty scared.

"Nothing Batter! Nothing at all!" The boy's voice was shaky, a few stutters lingered in as he took yet another step away from Zacharie.

Batter?

_Batter!_

That's what 'Baseball guy' had been called, Zach was sure of it. The voice, the low, aggressive voice, that was his all right.

"Nothing?" Batter still had that bat on him-it was resting on his right shoulder, both his hands gripping onto it as if he was ready to deliver a swing.

"Nothing." Another one of the group of boys assured, his voice just as jittery as the other's.

"Listen," the Batter replied, glaring at everyone surrounding Zacharie-a real threatening glare. "You all leave that kid alone, or balls won't be the only thing I'll be hitting with this bat."


	4. "Hello, my name is Zacharie..."

Sure as hell, the bullies went running. As well as the crowd of bystanders that thought that it would be fun to watch the French boy suffer. Of course, the whole 'white knight' skit sure did make Zacharie wonder exactly how much power Batter had in this place. It was apparent he was feared by many, and in a sense Zacharie could tell why. Regardless, Zach was just so happy and confused that the batsman had saved him.

When the masked boy had finally snapped out of his thoughts, he noticed an outstretched hand in front of him. It seemed pretty welcoming, but the person who was offering it did not. In fact, he looked a little pissed off, but Zach had already assumed that that was just how the Batter was. Eventually, the hand was taken, and with Batter's help Zacharie was lifted to his feet. The Batter sure was strong, Zacharie could tell by the way he was whisked to his feet so easily.

Now was time for the difficult part.

"Merci..." Surely the Batter new what that meant, right? If not, at least he would know that English wasn't a language Zacharie was familiar with. In all honestly, Zach was sure he knew how to say 'thank you', but he didn't want to mess up, so he thought it would be better to play it safe.

The reaction that Zacharie got wasn't exactly the reaction he was hoping for. He was hoping that the Batter would smile, and reply with a 'you're welcome', or 'any time', or maybe even a 'let's hang out some time', but instead he just received a shrug and a grunt, followed by the Batter just simply walking away.

He was fine when Batter was there, but as soon as he left, Zacharie realised just how much pain the boys had inflicted. His ribs ached and screamed out in pain, and his lungs and stomach were still having a hard time operating. The small boy hunched over and whined, trying to breath in as much oxygen as his aching lungs would allow; it came out as some kind of wheeze, as if he had just breathed in a load of poisonous gas.

It was a good job these sounds had escaped him, as it caught the attention of the Batter, who had turned around and was angrily making his way back over to Zach. He raised an eyebrow and silently waved his hand, gesturing for the French boy to follow him.

Zacharie did just that, straightening himself up and trotting after the Batter until he was right next to him. He was staring politely up at him, a small smile hidden under his mask. Batter however was just staring directly ahead, almost as if he was trying to ignore the fact that the smaller boy was right next to him. Zach could even understand if the Batter was in fact  _embarrassed_  to be walking with him, since the Batter was so cool and Zacharie was so... Well, uncool.

The taller male took Zacharie through places he had not yet been. The school sure was a big place. Of course, the pair received quite a lot of stares, which the Batter simply ignored; it wasn't as easy for Zacharie though. It bothered him, but at the same time it made Zacharie almost feel proud since the Batter was obviously a known icon around the school.

However, it only  _looked_ like they were friends, there was no evidence that they actually were. Not  _yet_  anyway. Regardless, Batter had technically saved Zacharie, and he sure was grateful for that. The French boy literally had to fight back urges to just stop and throw his arms around the baseball player.

That probably wouldn't end well anyway.

It wasn't long until the two reached their destination, which appeared to be the school nurse's office. The Batter was the one to knock and open the door, lightly pushing the smaller boy in.

"New kid. Got beat up by some kids. I think he's French."

The nurse gave the pair a small smile. She was a small elderly lady, in her early 60s it seemed. She seemed nice enough. "Thank you Mr-"

"Batter. It's the Batter." And with that, he gave a small nod towards Zacharie and left.

After about 20 minutes of being prodded and asked questions he didn't understand, Zacharie was released. The nurse simply issued him with a small ice pack, which he had to hold against his still painful ribs; not much help at all, really. He was already 15 minutes late to his English lesson, but at least he could actually  _tell_  the teacher what had happened.

After the explanation for why he was late and why he looked like a wounded soldier, the first thing Zacharie wanted to know was how to say 'thank you for saving me earlier, I think we should hang out sometime, you know, if you wanted to. I mean you don't have to, but I think you're really cool and I want to be your friend, plus you're really good at baseball.'

The teacher simply shortened it to: 'thank you for saving me, maybe we should hang out some time?'

She wrote it down for him on a small piece of paper, and asked who he was planning to say that to, exactly.

Zacharie then spent about half an hour explaining the whole ordeal with the Batter to her. He made sure not to leave out a single detail, no matter how small.

The rest of the lesson was spent learning shapes, and the names of lessons, and, most importantly, how to properly introduce himself. The Batter should think himself lucky really, he was going to be the first person Zacharie was going to talk to (or at least  _try_  to talk to).

The best thing was, Zacharie was actually  _excited_  to be talking to him. Never before had Zach felt like this when it came to talking to people, he usually just turned shy and walked away.

Batter was different. Zach couldn't quite put his finger on why, but he was.

As soon as he was dismissed, the French boy literally sprinted out of the classroom and into the playground. Now was the hard part: finding Batter. The baseball field seemed like a good place to start since that was of course where he first encountered him.

He jogged over, holding both the straps of his backpack. A few of the players he had saw earlier were already playing, but Batter wasn't with them. He wasn't sitting on the sidelines and watching either.

Zach looked around frantically, he needed to see the Batter. He even had the small slip of paper his teacher had given him in his hand. He didn't want to ask any of the other baseball players-they still intimidated him. In the end the small boy just resulted in choking out a small: "Batter?"

A hand was placed firmly on his shoulder, a deep voice echoing right behind him. "Right here, kid."

Zacharie tensed up, quickly turning around to face the desired person. The Batter still wore his emotionless expression, but there was something in his voice that sounded a little happy,  _friendly_  almost.

Now the nerves kicked in. Zacharie  _promised_  himself he wouldn't let this happen, but he was just so scared that he was going to mess this up.

"Um, hello," That was a pretty good start, despite the obvious shakiness in his voice. "My name is Zacharie and I'm 16 years old." That was the introduction sorted, at least. He then looked down at the piece of paper in his hand, beginning to read it out loud. "Thank you, Batter, for saving me. Maybe- Um, maybe-" He was shaking now, what if the answer was no? "Maybe we should hang out some time?"

A few of the others had obviously overheard, and a few were laughing quietly to themselves. Some even made remarks like: "The frog's got a crush on you, Batter!" or "Is that your new little friend, Batter?" One pair of boys were whispering something to each other, looking over at the Batter and Zacharie and eventually breaking into hysterics.

Batter just gave them all the same look he gave the group of kids that had surrounded and assaulted Zacharie. Then he spoke, his loud voice silencing the other sniggering players, "Hello, Zacharie. I'm Batter. I'm 17 years old. You're welcome, and yes. Yes we can hang out."

A wide smile came onto Zacharie's hidden mouth. Firstly because the Batter had actually said  _yes_ , and secondly because he actually  _understood_ what Batter had said. "Thank you, Batter, thank you!"

This time there was no second thoughts, Zach literally threw his arms around the Batter, burying his face in the other's chest and breathing in his scent. Zach couldn't quite place what Batter smelt like, exactly, but he sure did like it. It almost felt as if Zach was hugging a bear.

To put it simply, the Batter was taken by surprise. He even went red a little, and let out a silent gasp. His face didn't change though, except for his eyes opening just the slightest bit wider.

He didn't quite know what to do. Obviously, he wasn't going to return the hug in front of everyone-he was already getting hollered with a few wolf whistles, and even: "Look! Batter's got a boyfriend!"

After a short moment, he just lightly patted the smaller boy's back, or backpack at least. "Hey, Zacharie?" The Batter began, his voice was quite stern. The others were receiving another one of his death stares. "How about we hang out now?  _Right_ now?"


	5. "I have an idea..."

"Assholes. The lot of them." The Batter was pissed off alright, and those words were the first things that escaped his mouth as soon as the pair had left the baseball field. It wasn't that he was embarrassed by the remarks he had received, he was just annoyed. Really, he had used 'hang out with Zacharie' as a way of escaping them, but he wasn't going to let the masked kid down.

Zacharie was just looking up Batter, his head gently cocked to the side. He was happy, but he just wished he knew more English, that way he could start a conversation with the other male instead of just staring up at him. The main thing that mattered was that he wasn't alone, and even though the pair may not have yet been considered friends yet, at least they were on their way there.

After a while, the Batter just shook his head, snapping out of a deep thought. "Anyway, follow me." He sighed, accompanied by the same gesture he had given the French boy earlier that day.

Again, Zach just silently followed the Batter, this time managing to ignore the sniggers and stares; he didn't need them, he had the Batter (at least, it seemed like he did). Of course, this time they weren't going to the nurse's office, and instead were heading towards the crowded dining hall.

To no surprise, the first group of kids the pair set their eyes on were the boys that found fun in kicking the shit out of Zacharie earlier in the day; they were all crowded in the corner nearest the entrance. They all looked over at the two, some nudging the same boy that had pinned Zach down, as if encouraging him to do something.

He did just that.

"Oi masky! You got the Batter running circles around you now? Too scared to walk around school? Man up, faggot!" The other immature boys found humour in this, as well as a few random people in the dining hall.

The Batter's reaction was almost involuntary. He stormed over to the flock of boys, pushing through them all until he reached the one who had hollered the remark. He was pushed against the wall almost instantly by the force of the Batter's hand gripping onto his neck.

"You leave Zacharie alone! You hear?!" Batter's voice boomed, it was filled with rage. "You leave him alone or you'll have hell coming right at you! All of you! He's new and hardly understands any English as it is! Plus, I am not running circles around him, but someone has to stick up for him when there's assholes like you around, don't they?!"

It scared Zach a little-Batter's aggression that is-but he knew he should be thankful, he was sticking up for him after all.

In fact, he wasn't the only one: the entire dining hall let out a surprised gasp.

The strangled boy tried his best to spit out an apology, but Batter's hand was wrapped so tight around his neck, he literally began to go pale. For a second, it even looked as if he was dead.

A loud series of coughing proved the boy to be alive though. He involuntarily sank to the floor as he was released, gasping for air.

The Batter walked back to Zacharie, who was still completely in shock, and grabbed his shoulder, dragging him away from the crowd. He dragged him over to the far corner, before taking a seat at one of the tables.

It took a while for Zach to snap out of his trance; he hadn't even realised he had been moved. Eventually, the masked boy sat down opposite his newfound friend, looking up at him through the blacked out eye-holes of the mask.

The taller male seemed to be deep in thought, his cheek was resting in the palm of his right hand, his fingers drumming on the table. He was staring straight ahead, right past Zacharie, completely ignoring the stares he was receiving from the French boy.

This gave Zach a chance to study him, he hadn't really done so before hand. His eyes wandered around the Batter's face, picking up everything: his sharp jawline, his dark red eyes, his thick black eyebrows, his slightly pointed nose...

No... He couldn't feel that way... He'd only just met him.

"Hey, Zach..." The Batter said quietly after about 10 minutes of silence, his eyes were still focused on the wall behind Zacharie.

"Oui? Um, yes?" The small boy perked up, changing his stare into a gaze. He just hoped that he would be able to understand what was about to be said to him.

"I have an idea," Batter replied, sitting up and stretching. A small smile slowly crept onto his pale face. "Let me teach you my language..."


	6. 'You’re a lucky boy, Zacharie...'

How Batter was planning to 'teach him his language', Zacharie didn't know. What did he even mean exactly? Why was it _his_ language? Oh well. Zacharie had accepted the offer anyway. It was nice of the Batter to want to help him but, as far as Zacharie knew, Batter didn't even know any French. Plus, Zach was already receiving none stop English lessons.

But at least they were friends now, right?

The rest of lunch wasn't as eventful. In fact, the majority of it was spent sitting in silence with Zacharie continuing to study the Batter's face and Batter gazing at the wall again. It made Zach happy, however, that he wasn't sitting on his own. On the first day too!

As soon as the bell rang, notifying the two that lunch was over, Batter stood up and insisted he take Zach to his lesson. That way he could feel secure knowing that he would get there safely.

In his final English lesson of the day, the French boy asked more questions regarding important translations. The teacher even gave Zach a small book for him to write all his necessary phrases in, so that he could use them time and time again. At the end of the lesson, Zacharie gave the teacher many thanks and assured that he'd see her the next day. But as soon as his ears rang with the sound of the final school bell, Zach rushed straight out the classroom and practically ran through the halls until he had left the school building. There he waited, in the playground, for his 'friend' to arrive.

Batter was not at all surprised to find the boy with the grinning cat mask standing there, waving at him, when he too had left the building. Well, he couldn't just leave him standing there, could he? He quickly jogged over, hugging a small, thick book to his chest, and gave Zach a small: "Hey."

After a few seconds delay, Zacharie opened his small book of translations and read out the desired phrase, of course struggling with some of the pronunciation. "Would you like to walk home with me, Batter?"

Batter couldn't help but crack a smile. The French boy was cute in that respect, plus it would probably be for the best if Zacharie didn't walk alone. "Sure, kiddo. I was gonna offer to walk you home anyway." The masked boy probably didn't understand the second half of the sentence, but by the way he stood and clapped, Batter could tell he was happy.

"Yes good!" Zach exclaimed, beginning to skip towards the school gates, Batter following closely behind.

Not much was said as the pair walked because, in truth, not much _could_ be said. Instead the two just occasionally looked at each other, Batter giving the tiniest of smiles and Zach just nodding in appreciation, wearing a smile under that mask.

It wasn't long until the two had reached Zacharie's house, Batter giving a subtle wave. If he knew how to say so Zach would have invited him in, but that was not something he had asked to be translated for him. He never thought he would _need_ to know such a thing, because he never honestly expected that the Batter would walk him right to his doorstep.

The French boy just simple waved back, before fishing into his pockets and turning around to unlock his front door. He had just stepped inside and gave the taller boy another soft stare before going to close the door, before the Batter’s foot stopped it from shutting.

“Wait.” He was holding out something, a book of some kind, inquiring Zacharie to take it. “I can’t speak French, but I still want to help you with your English. I might not be able to teach you this language personally, at least not yet, but this book will help you. It translates English phrases to French for you, so you don’t have to ask your teacher for them all the time. I promise that tonight I’ll try to learn some French for you, if you promise you’ll try to learn English, okay? You’re a lucky boy, Zacharie, you’ve made me smile and watch out for you, and I don’t do that for just anybody. I honestly don’t know why I’m doing it, but I’ve dug myself into this hole and it seems that I’m unable to get out. Oh and also, please note that I _totally_ didn’t steal that book from one of the French classrooms, and I’m aware that I probably sound like such an idiot to you right now because you can’t understand a word I’m saying. Bye, friend.” And with that Batter passed him the book and turned on his heel, walking off without looking back even once.

Zacharie stared down at the book for a moment, his lips curving into another small smile. When he looked up he caught a final glimpse of the Batter, to whom he shouted a loud: “Bye, Batter!”

He didn’t even stop to say hello to his parents, he just shut the door and ran straight upstairs to his room. Sure, he didn’t understand exactly what Batter had said to him in his speech, but he guessed that he had given him this book to help him learn English. Zacharie ripped his mask and backpack off, before diving straight onto his bed and opening the bible of English.

He sat there all night reading the phrases and saying them out loud; repeating this until he was certain he had understood and pronounced it right. He only left the book when he had to eat and when he finally decided it would be a good idea to sleep. At dinner, his parents curiously asked exactly what Zach had been doing up there, to which he told them that he had made a new friend who had given him a book that would help him with his English. His parents looked surprised, to say the least, but it was a general good look of surprise. His mother even had tears in her eyes: tears of happiness.

Zacharie’s last thought before he drifted off to sleep was of the Batter. He sat there thinking about the conversations the two would have, where they would hang out on the weekend and what sort of things they would do. He also used this as an excuse to go over the newly learnt phrases in his head, to assure he remembered them.

This allowed him to slowly drop off to sleep, and he needed it too if he was going to be awakened by the news that he had a friend waiting for him.


	7. Time flies when you have a friend...

Zacharie could never recall ever getting dressed faster in his life. He literally just threw on his clothes, swung one strap of his backpack onto his shoulder, placed a mask on his face (he decided he'd wear his toad mask today), tugged at his wildly messy hair with a brush, put on his shoes, and ran out the door dismissing the thought of breakfast entirely. Of course, he didn't forget the book Batter had given him; it was sort of a necessity.

To no surprise the 'friend' waiting for him was the Batter. He stood just in front of the door, tapping the wooden baseball bat in his hand on the concrete path.

"Bat?" Was the first thing Zacharie inquired him about, nodding towards the mundane object whilst closing the front door behind him.

"Oui. It's a bat." He said plainly. "I'm using it for baseball practice later. Don't worry I'm not going to hit you with it." Batter's emotionless voice was almost unsettling, and his face didn't help either. It wasn't like yesterday, he wore no smile and there were heavy bags under his eyes; it was just like when they first met. "Anyway, time for another day in the office, or hell, or whatever you wish to call school."

Zacharie just nodded eagerly, finally sliding his arm through the other strap of his backpack and beginning to walk ahead, the Batter following behind.

"Hey. You changed your mask." Batter pointed out when he had caught up with the smaller boy. His tone sounded a little less serious, but still not as cheery as it had been.

"Yes. I have two." Zacharie said slowly, happy that he had remembered a phrase.

"That one is a frog, huh?"

"Yes. Frog and cat."

"Cool. Any particular reason why you chose those two animals?" Batter asked, looking down at the other boy and observing the mask.

"I like cats."

"And frogs?" Batter urged on. "Or is that supposed to be some kind of French joke?"

"Yes. I am French and I like frogs." Zach was pretty pleased with how far he was getting with this conversation, even though the conversation was going nowhere.

"Okay cool." The older boy sighed, which triggered a long moment of silence as the two walked on.

"Hey, Zach?" The Batter ushered as the two were practically outside the school. "Why do you even wear those? The masks, I mean."

The question received no reply, and Zacharie just continued looking straight ahead as if purposely ignoring it.

"Zacharie?"

Again he received no reply, the smaller boy still choosing to ignore the other.

" _Zacharie!"_ This was more of a shout than an urge, and it even caused the French kid to flinch a little. The Batter's soft look had now turned into a stern glare.

"Does not matter..." Zach whispered frightfully and full of nerves, picking up his walking pace in order to separate himself from the other.

The taller boy just scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You could have just said that then. It's rude to ignore people, you know? Were you never taught any fucking manners?"

"No. I mean yes. I mean, um…" Zacharie was full of panic now. The Batter was terrifying when he was angry, that was for sure. He just ran ahead, straight into the building. It took him a few minutes for him to find his classroom, dismissing the fact that it was exactly the same as it had been yesterday, but at least it gave him time to mentally prepare for the day ahead.

It's not that Zach didn't  _try_ to listen to the teacher; he just couldn't focus or take in anything that was said. Besides, the lesson wasn't much of a benefit since he was _totally_  an expert at the English language now. He just absentmindedly filled in a sheet about pets – not that he had any anyway – while his thoughts were focused on the more important English he had learnt from the book and the silly little telling off he received from the Batter. He just kept telling himself that he had ruined the potential friendship he could have had with Batter, and how he would have to find someone else now, and that he'd probably have to fend for himself now if he was attacked again.

Luckily these negative thoughts were interrupted by the teacher gently prodding him, informing him that it was time to leave for break in his native language.

A groan escaped the French boy's covered mouth, and he began to regret staying up so late to read that godsend of a book. Grouchily, he grabbed his backpack from under the table and slung it over his shoulder, yawning and shuffling out of the classroom.

Since this was where Zacharie had met the Batter in the previous break time, he decided the baseball field was a good place to look for his friend (although, deep down, he was pretty upset that he wasn't waiting by the door for him). He just took a slow stroll over to it, constantly stopping himself from falling asleep.

He couldn't quite remember the exact time he had went to sleep, but he knew it ended with an AM. He never really stayed awake that late, and this was his body's way of getting revenge.

The short walk to the baseball ground appeared to be a day long trek for the overly tired French boy. The very arrival of him caused a few of the players to sneer and laugh, staring at the Batter with cunning eyes. However,  _he_  didn't bat an eyelid. He didn't even turn to look at Zach, even though he was fully aware of his presence.

The Batter was just standing there, tapping a bat into the grass much like he had done on the pavement earlier. He stood alone, facing away from everyone and trying to ignore their mocking gestures towards both him and Zach. Of course, this idleness would not last long, as he was soon to be interrupted by one of the sniggering assholes.

"Hey Batter," he began. "You're little French twink is here, y'know."

A grunt was the reply, along with a dismissing shrug that basically said 'I don't care'. He didn't even turn to look at Zach, and instead kept his gaze on whatever was straight ahead. It wasn't like he didn't want to talk to Zacharie; he just didn't want to talk to him  _here_.

The French boy didn't seem to mind much anyway, he just sat there looking at Batter from a few metres away. He was still mildly concerned about earlier, so he decided it would be best to keep his distance. Besides, the others certainly intimidated him.

After a few minutes of focusing on nothing, the Batter finally turned around of a brief second to watch Zacharie pick a few pieces of grass out of the ground. The kid looked nervous, lonely too, and he  _had_ come over just to see him. Batter let out a sigh, going over to the batting square without even being called.

The whole baseball field went silent. All conversations stopped and all eyes were focussed on the Batter, Zacharie's the most eager.

He got into position, ready to swing, as he nodded towards the pitcher to deliver the throw. His breathing was heavy, his mind obviously focussed on hitting the ball correctly.

Which, unsurprisingly, he did.

Just like before, the ball went flying. Probably to another country. Zacharie was the only one cheering, but he was cheering as loud as he could. He even stood up and clapped, regardless to the embarrassment he would feel afterwards.

He tried not to, he fought it even, but the muscles in the Batter's face forced a smile to be formed. It wasn't the biggest smile, but it was there. He just watched Zacharie and shook his head, resting the bat on his shoulder and making his way over.

"Thanks, kid." The Batter said in appreciation, looking down at the still cheering French boy. "Come on, we'll take a slow walk to your classroom."

\-----------------------------------------------

The majority of the next few months went on like this. Zach would wake up to the news that his friend was waiting to walk to school with him. Batter would show off his batting skills at breaktime as Zacharie watched, amazed. They'd both walk to Zach's classroom and say a small 'see you later'. Lunchtime was spent in the dining hall where Batter would stick to his deal of teaching Zach English, and each day conversation, and Zacharie's English, would improve. Batter would wait for Zach by the school entrance afterschool, and the two would walk home together. That's just the way it was.

The friendship was quite a mistake, really. Batter never really wanted Zacharie as a  _permanent_  friend, he thought that the whole 'friendship' would end as soon as Zach was comfortable in the school and that he'd forget about the whole 'I'll teach you English' thing. Of course, that never happened. Everyday the French would always come trotting up to the Batter. One time, Batter tried purposely hiding from Zach, but some how the masked boy always found him.

Batter just learnt to accept it after that. Besides, Zacharie wasn't  _that_  bad, he just wasn't exactly the type of guy Batter expected to associate himself with. Batter loved sports and being aggressive, Zach loved wearing masks and being happy - that's all he knew about him really.

However, in time their friendship blossomed and soon enough they were both happy in the presence of each others company.

"Batter! Batter!" Zacharie chirped, running out of the school one particular afternoon. "Tomorrow I start normal lessons!" He jumped up and down a few times, laughing to himself.

"Oh really?" Batter asked with an eyebrow raised. "Cool."

"Non! Non! I haven't told you the best part."

"Then please do tell me."

"I asked if I could be in a class with you." Zach replied, it was apparent he wore a large smile by his tone of voice.

"But you're in the year below me, how will that work?"

"No! They said I could! Because you are friend, oui?"

"Well yeah I guess."

"Exactly!" Zach beamed. "They said it would be good if I had friend with me in class. Said it would be safer."

"Okay then. Cool I guess." Batter just gave a few nods. His tone was emotionless as usual, but he was secretly quite pleased. It would make a difference to sitting alone in class, judging people.

The two then began walking home, Zach asking questions about the classes he's be attending the next day, showing off his new timetable and comparing it to Batter's to assure they were the same.

"You know, if you find classes hard you should tell one of the teachers, okay?" Batter butted in whilst Zacharie was going on about how excited he was. "I don't want you stressing yourself out because you don't understand anything. Real classes are hard, Zach, just remember that." There was genuine concern in his voice. Quite a lot of the school year had already gone, meaning Zach had missed out on a lot of the things they had learned and would therefore probably be very confused sitting in the lessons.

"Don't worry," The smaller boy replied calmly. "I'll be fine. My English teacher said she will sit at the back of class to help." Zach sounded confident, but Batter still had his doubts.

"Fine, but it's not just the language difference I'm on about." By that time, they had reached Zach's house. "Anyway, I won't keep you. You should get an early night to prepare for tomorrow."

"I will, don't worry." Was Zach's reply, still sounding excited. With that he gave the Batter a quick hug, which was now routine thing (however, the first hug the two shared was quite a shock to the Batter), and quickly skipped over to his front door. "See you tomorrow, Batter!" he called as he unlocked the door and hopped into his house.

"See you later, kid. I'll be here in the morning for you, same time, same place. You know the drill." Batter sighed, before turning to walk away.

"I sure do, Batter. I sure do."


End file.
